i'irvj.i> 


$B    bBI    Ibfi 


Krishnamurti 
Alcyone 


^t  ti|^    F^^t 


xtt  t\\t  lUaat^r 


I 


[j.    KRISHNAMURTl] 


AMERICAN  EDITIOM 

THE  RAJPUT  PRESSL 


CHICAGO. 
1911' 


-^//l 


AT    THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 


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PREFACE 


^g^  HE   privilege   is   given  to 
^2   me,  as  an  elder,  to  pen  a 
word  of  introduction  to  this  little 
book,  the  first  written  by  a  younger 
Brother,  young  in  body  verily,  but 
not  in  Soul.     The  teachings  con- 
tained in  it  were  given  to  him  by 
his  Master  in  preparing  him  for 
Initiation,  and  were  written  down 
by  him  from  memory— slowly  and 
laboriously,   for   his   English   last 
year  waa  far  less  fluent  than  it  is 
now.    The  greater  part  is  a  repro- 
duction of  the  Master's  own  words; 
that  which  is  not  such  a  verbal  re- 
production is  the  Master's  thought 
clothed  in  His  J)upil's  words.    Two 


omitted  sentences  were  supplied  by 
the  Master.  In  two  other  cases  an 
omitted  word  has  been  added.  Be- 
yond this,  it  is  entirely  Alcyone's 
own,  his  first  gift  to  the  world. 

May  it  help  others  as  the  spoken 
teachings  helped  him — such  is  the 
hope  with  which  he  gives  it.  But 
the  teaching  can  only  be  fruitful 
if  it  is  lived,  as  he  has  lived  it,  since 
it  fell  from  his  Master's  lips.  If 
the  example  be  followed  as  well  as 
the  precept,  then  for  the  reader,  as 
for  the  writer,  shall  the  great  Por- 
tal swing  open,  and  his  feet  be  set 
on  the  Path. 

Annie  Besant.    . 


TO 
THOSE  WHO  KNOCK 


From  the  unreal  lead  me  to  the  Real. 
From  darkness  lead  me  to  Light. 
From  death  lead  me  to  Immortality. 


FOKEWOED 
HESE  are  not  my  words; 


f^^    they  are  tlie  words  of  the 


Master  who  taught  me.  With- 
out Him  I  could  have  done  nothing, 
but  through  His  help  I  have  set  my 
feet  upon  the  Path.  You  also  de- 
sire to  enter  the  same  Path,  so  the 
words  which  He  spoke  to  me  will 
help  you  also,  if  you  will  obey  themi. 
It  is  not  enough  to  say  that  they 
are  true  and  beautiful ;  a  man  who 
wishes  to  succeed  must  do  exactly 
what  is  said.    To  look  at  food  and 


say  that  it  is  good  will  not  satisfy 
a  starving  man;  he  must  put  forth 
his  hand  and  eat.  So  to  hear  the 
Master's  words  is  not  enough,  you 
must  do  what  He  says,  attending 
to  every  word,  taking  every  hint. 
If  a  hint  is  not  taken,  if  a  word  is 
missed,  it  is  lost  forever;  for  He 
does  not  speak  twice. 


Four  qualifications  there  are  for 
this  pathway : 

Discrimination 

Desirelessness 

Good  conduct 

Love 

What  the  Master  has  said  to  me 
on  each  of  these  I  shall  try  to  tell 
you. 


AT    THE   FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 


W!^^  HE  first  of  these  Qualifica- 
[^^^%|  tions  is  Discrimination ;  and 
this  is  usually  taken  as  the  discrim- 
ination between  the  real  and  the  un- 
real which  leads  men  to  enter  the 
Path.  It  is  this,  but  it  is  also  much 
more ;  and  it  is  to  be  practised,  not 
only  at  the  beginning  of  the  Path, 
but  at  every  step  of  it  every  day 
until  the  end.  You  enter  the  Path 
because  you  have  learnt  that  on  it 
5 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

alone  can  be  found  those  things 
which  are  worth  gaining.  Men  who 
do  not  know,  work  to  gain  wealth 
and  power,  but  these  are  at  most 
for  one  life  only,  and  therefore  un- 
real. There  are  greater  things  than 
these — things  which  are  real  and 
lasting;  when  you  have  once  seen 
these,  you  desire  those  others  no 
more. 

In  all  the  world  there  are  only 
two  kinds  of  people — those  who 
know,  and  those  who  do  not  know; 
and  this  knowledge  is  the  thing 
which  matters.  What  religion  a 
6 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTEB 


man  holds,  to  what  race  he  belongs 
—these  things  are  not  important; 
the  really  important  thing  is  this 
knowledge— the  knowledge  of  God's 
plan  for  men.    For  God  has  a  plan, 
and  that  plan  is  evolution.    When 
once  a  man  has  seen  that  and  really 
knows  it,  he  cannot  help  working 
for  it  and  making  himself  one  with 
it,   because   it   is   so   glorious,   so 
beautiful.     So,  because  he  knows, 
he  is  on  God's  side,  standing  for 
good   and   resisting   evil,   working 
for  evolution  and  not  for  selfish- 


ness. 

7 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

If  he  is  on  God's  side  he  is  one 
of  us,  and  it  does  not  matter  in  the 
least  whether  he  calls  himself  a 
Hindu  or  a  Buddhist,  a  Christian  or 
a  Muhammadan,  whether  he  is  an 
Indian  or  an  Englishman,  a  China- 
man or  a  Eussian.  Those  who  are 
on  His  side  know  why  they  are  here 
and  what  they  should  do,  and  they 
are  trying  to  do  it ;  all  the  others  do 
not  yet  know  what  they  should  do, 
and  so  they  often  act  foolishly,  and 
try  to  invent  ways  for  themselves 
which  they  think  will  be  pleasant 
for  themselves,  not  understanding 
8 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

that  all  are  ODfe,  and  that  therefore 
only  what  the  One  wills  can  ever  be 
really  pleasant  for  any  one.  They 
are  following  the  unreal  instead  of 
the  real.  Until  they  learn  to  dis- 
tinguish between  these  two,  they 
have  not  ranged  themselves/  on 
God's  side,  and  so  this  discrimina- 
tion is  the  first  step. 

But  even  when  the  choice  is  made, 
you  must  still  remember  that  of  the 
real  and  the  unreal  there  are  many 
varieties;  and  discrimination  must 
still  be  made  between  the  right  and 
the  wrong,  the  important  and  the 
9 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

unimportant,  the  useful  and  the 
useless,  the  true  and  the  false,  the 
selfish  and  the  unselfish. 

Between  the  right  and  wrong  it 
should  not  be  difficult  to  choose,  for 
those  who  wish  to  follow  the  Master 
have  already  decided  to  take  the 
right  at  all  costs.  But  the  body  and 
the  man  are  two,  and  the  man's 
will  is  not  always  what  the  body 
wishes.  When  your  body  wishes 
something,  stop  and  think  whether 
you  really  wish  it.  For  you  are 
God,  and  you  will  only  what  God 
wills;  but  you  must  dig  deep  down 
10 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 


into  yourself  to  find  the  God  within 
yon,  and  listen  to  His  voice,  which 
is  your  voice.  Do  not  mistake  your 
bodies  for  yourself— neither  the 
physical  body,  nor  the  astral,  nor 
the  mental.  Each  one  of  them  will 
pretend  to  be  the  Self,  in  order  to 
gain  what  it  wants.  But  you  must 
know  them  all,  and  know  yourself 
as  their  master. 

When  there  is  work  that  must  be 
done,  the  physical  body  wants  to 
rest,  to  go  out  walking,  to  eat  and 
drink;  and  the  man  who  does  not 
know  says  to  himself:  "I  want  to 
11 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

do  these  things,  and  I  must  do 
them."  But  the  man  who  knows 
says:  ^^This  that  wants  is  not  I, 
and  it  must  wait  awhile."  Often 
when  there  is  an  opportunity  to 
help  some  one,  the  body  feels: 
*'How  much  trouble  it  will  be  for 
me;  let  some  one  else  do  it."  But 
the  man  replies  to  his  body:  ^^You 
shall  not  hinder  me  in  doing  good 
work." 

The  body  is  your  animal — the 
horse  upon  which  you  ride.  There- 
fore you  must  treat  it  well,  and  take 
good  care  of  it ;  you  must  not  over- 

12 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

work  it,  you  must  feed  it  properly 
on  pure  food  and  drink  only,  and 
keep  it  strictly  clean  always,  even 
from  the  minutest  speck  of  dirt. 
For  without  a  perfectly  clean  and 
healthy  body  you  cannot  do  the  ar- 
duous work  of  preparation,  you 
cannot  bear  its  ceaseless  strain. 
But  it  must  always  be  you  who  con- 
trol that  body,  not  it  that  controls 
you. 

The  astral  body  has  its  desires — 

dozens  of  them ;  it  wants  you  to  be 

angry,  to  say  sharp  words,  to  feel 

jealous,  to  be  greedy  for  money,  to 

13 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE   MASTER 

envy  other  people  their  possessions, 
to  yield  yourself  to  depression.  All 
these  things  it  wants,  and'  many 
more,  not  because  it  wishes  to  harm 
you,  but  because  it  likes  violent  vi- 
brations, and  likes  to  change  them 
constantly.  But  you  want  none  of 
these  things,  and  therefore  you 
must  discriminate  between  your 
wants  and  your  body's. 

Your  mental  body  wishes  to  think 
itself  proudly  separate,  to  think 
much  of  itself  and  little  of  others. 
Even  when  you  have  turned  it  away 
from  worldly  things,  it  still  tries  to 
14 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTEB 

calculate  for  self,  to  make  you  think 
of  your  own  progress,  instead  of 
thinking  of  the  Master's  work  and 
of  helping  others.  When  you  medi- 
tate, it  will  try  to  make  you  think 
of  the  many  different  things  which 
it  wants  instead  of  the  one  thing 
which  you  want.  You  are  not  this 
mind,  but  it  is  yours  to  use ;  so  here 
again  discrimination  is  necessary. 
Tou  must  watch  unceasingly,  or 
you  will  fail. 

Between  right  and  wrong,  Occult- 
ism knows  no  compromise.  At 
whatever  apparent  cost,  that  which 

15 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTEB 

is  right  yon  must  do,  that  which  is 
wrong  yon  mnst  not  do,  no  matter 
what  the  ignorant  may  think  or  say. 
Yon  mnst  study  deeply  the  hidden 
laws  of  Nature,  and  when  you  know 
them  arrange  your  life  according  to 
them,  using  always  reason  and 
eommon-sense. 

You  must  discriminate  between 
the  important  and  the  unimportant. 
Firm  as  a  rock  where  right  and 
wrong  are  concerned,  yield  always 
to  others  in  things  which  do  not  mat- 
ter. For  you  must  be  always  gentle 
and  kindly,  reasonable  and  accommo- 
16 


AT  THE  FEET  OE  THE  MASTER 


dating,  leaving  to  others  the  same 
full  liberty  which  you  need  for  your- 
self. 

Try  to  see  what  is  worth  doing: 
and  remember  that  you  must  not 
judge  by  the  size  of  the  thing.    A 
small  thing  which  is  directly  useful 
in  the  Master's  work  is  far  better 
worth    doing    than    a    large    thing 
which  the  world  would  call  good. 
You  must  distinguish  not  only  the 
useful   from   the   useless,   but   the 
more  useful  from  the  less  useful. 
To  feed  the  poor  is  a  good  and  noble 
and  useful  work;  yet  to  feed  their 

17 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTEB 

souls  is  nobler  and  more  useful  than 
to  feed  their  bodies.  Any  rich  man 
can  feed  the  body,  but  only  those 
who  know  can  feed  the  soul.  If  you 
know,  it  is  your  duty  to  help  others 
to  know. 

However  wise  you  may  be  al- 
ready, on  this  Path  you  have  much 
to  learn;  so  much  that  here  also 
there  must  be  discrimination,  and 
you  must  think  carefully  what  is 
worth  learning.  All  knowledge  is 
useful,  and  one  day  you  will  have 
all  knowledge;  but  while  you  have 
only  part,  take  care  that  it  is  the 
18 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE   MASTER 

most  useful  part.  God  is  Wisdom 
as  well  as  Love ;  and  the  more  wis- 
dom you  have  the  more  you  can 
manifest  of  Him.  Study  then,  but 
study  first  that  which  will  most  help 
you  to  help  others.  Work  patiently 
at  your  studies,  not  that  men  may 
think  you  wise,  not  even  that  you 
may  have  the  happiness  of  being 
wise,  but  because  only  the  wise  man 
can  be  wisely  helpful.  However 
much  you  wish  to  help,  if  you  are 
ignorant  you  may  do  more  harm 
than  good. 

You    must    distinguish    between 
19 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

truth  and  falsehood ;  you  must  learn 
to  be  true  all  through,  in  thought 
and  word  and  deed. 

In  thought  first;  and  that  is  not 
easy,  for  there  are  in  the  world 
many  untrue  thoughts,  many  foolish 
superstitions,  and  no  one  who  is  en- 
slaved by  them  can  make  progress. 
Therefore  you  must  not  hold  a 
thought  just  because  many  other 
people  hold  it,  nor  because  it  has 
been  believed  for  centuries,  nor  be- 
cause it  is  written  in  some  book 
which  men  think  sacred;  you  must 
think  of  the  matter  for  yourself,  and 
20 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

judge  for  yourself  whether  it  is 
reasonable.  Eemember  that  though 
a  thousand  men  agree  upon  a  sub- 
ject, if  they  know  nothing  about  that 
subject  their  opinion  is  of  no  value. 
He  who  would  walk  upon  the  Path 
must  learn  to  think  for  himself,  for 
superstition  is  one  of  the  greatest 
evils  in  the  world,  one  of  the  fetters 
from  which  you  must  utterly  free 
yourself. 

Your  thought  about  others  must 
be  true ;  you  must  not  think  of  them 
what  you  do  not  know.  Do  not  sup- 
pose that  they  are  always  thinking 

21 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTEB 

of  you.  If  a  man  does  something 
which  you  think  will  harm  you,  or 
says  something  which  you  think  ap- 
plies to  you,  do  not  think  at  once: 
*'He  meant  to  injure  me.''  Most 
probably  he  never  thought  of  you  at 
all,  for  each  soul  has  its  own 
troubles  and  its  thoughts  turn 
chiefly  around  itself.  If  a  man 
speak  angrily  to  you,  do  not  think: 
''He  hates  me,  he  wishes  to  wound 
me."  Probably  some  one  or  some- 
thing else  has  made  him  angry,  and 
because  he  happens  to  meet  you  he 
turns  his  anger  upon  you.     He  is 

22 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTBB 


acting  foolishly,  for  all  anger  is 
foolish,  but  you  must  not  therefore 
think  untruly  of  him. 

When  you  become  a  pupil  of  the 
Master,  you  may  always  try  the 
truth  of  your  thought  by  laying  it 
beside  His.     For  the  pupil  is  one 
with  his  Master,  and  he  needs  only 
to  put  back  his  thought  into  the 
Master's  thought  to   see  at  once 
whether  it  agrees.    If  it  does  not,  it 
is  wrong,  and  he  changes  it  instant- 
ly, for  the  Master's  thought  is  per- 
fect, because  He  knows  all.    Those 
who  are  not  yet  accepted  by  Him 
23 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

cannot  do  quite  this ;  but  they  may 
greatly  help  themselves  by  stopping 
often  to  think:  **What  would  the 
Master  think  about  this?  What 
would  the  Master  say  or  do  under 
these  circumstances?"  For  you 
must  never  do  or  say  or  think  what 
you  cannot  imagine  the  Master  as 
doing  or  saying  or  thinking. 

You  must  be  true  in  speech  too — 
accurate  and  without  exaggeration. 
Never  attribute  motives  to  another ; 
only  his  Master  knows  his  thoughts, 
and  he  may  be  acting  from  reasons 
which    have    never    entered    your 

24 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE   MASTER 

mind.  If  you  hear  a  story  against 
any  one,  do  not  repeat  it ;  it  may  not 
be  true,  and  even  if  it  is,  it  is  kinder 
to  say  nothing.  Think  well  before 
speaking,  lest  you  should  fall  into 
inaccuracy. 

Be  true  in  action;  never  pretend 
to  be  other  than  you  are,  for  all  pre- 
tence is  a  hindrance  to  the  pure 
light  of  truth,  which  should  shine 
through  you  as  sunlight  shines 
through  clear  glass. 

You  must  discriminate  between 
the  selfish  and  the  unselfish.  For 
selfishness  has  many  forms,  and 
25 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

when  you  think  you  have  finally 
killed  it  in  one  of  them,  it  arises  in 
another  as  strongly  as  ever.  But 
by  degrees  you  will  become  so  full 
of  thought  for  the  helping  of  others 
that  there  will  be  no  room,  no  time, 
for  any  thought  about  yourself. 

You  must  discriminate  in  yet  an- 
other way.  Learn  to  distinguish 
the  God  in  everyone  and  everything, 
no  matter  how  evil  he  or  it  may  ap- 
pear on  the  surface.  You  can  help 
your  brother  through  that  which 
you  have  in  common  with  him,  and 
that  is  the  Divine  Life;  learn  how 
26 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 


to  arouse  that  in  him,  learn  how  to 
appeal  to  that  in  him;  so  shall  you 
save  your  brother  from  wrong. 


27 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 


n 

W^^  HERE  are  many  for  whom 
f^^^jg]  the  Qualification  of  Desire- 
lessness  is  a  difficult  one,  for 
they  feel  that  they  are  their  de- 
sires— ^that  if  their  distinctive  de- 
sires, their  likings  and  dislikings, 
are  taken  away  from  them,  there 
will  be  no  self  left.  But  these 
are  only  they  who  have  not  seen 
the  Master;  in  the  light  of  His 
holy  Presence  all  desire  dies,  but  the 
desire  to  be  like  Him.  Yet  before 
23 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

you  have  the  happiness  of  meeting 
Him  face  to  face,  yon  may  attain  de- 
sirelessness  if  you  will.  Discrimi- 
nation has  already  shown  you  that 
the  things  which  most  men  desire, 
such  as  wealth  and  power,  are  not 
worth  having;  when  this  is  really 
felt,  not  merely  said,  all  desire  for 
them  ceases. 

Thus  far  all  is  simple ;  it  needs 
only  that  you  should  understand. 
But  there  are  some  who  forsake  the 
pursuit  of  earthly  aims  only  in 
order  to  gain  heaven,  or  to  attain 
personal  liberation  from  rebirth; 
29 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

into  this  error  you  must  not  fall. 
If  you  have  forgotten  self  alto- 
gether, you  cannot  be  thinking  when 
that  self  should  be  set  free,  or  what 
kind  of  heaven  it  shall  have.  Ee- 
member  that  all  selfish  desire  binds, 
however  high  may  be  its  object,  and 
until  you  have  got  rid  of  it  you  are 
not  wholly  free  to  devote  yourself 
to  the  work  of  the  Master. 

When  all  desires  for  self  are  gone, 
there  may  still  be  a  desire  to  see  the 
result  of  your  work.  If  you  help 
anybody,  you  want  to  see  how  much 
you  have  helped  him ;  perhaps  even 
you  want  him  to  see  it  too,  and  to  be 

30 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTEB 


grateful.     But  this  is  still  desire, 
and  also  want  of  trust.    When  you 
pour   out   your   strength   to   help, 
there  must  be  a  result,  whether  you 
can  see  it  or  not;  if  you  know  the 
Law  you  know  this  must  be  so.    So 
you  must  do  right  for  the  sake  of 
the  right,  not  in  the  hope  of  re- 
ward; you  must  work  for  the  sake 
of  the  work,  not  in  the  hope  of  see- 
ing the  result ;  you  must  give  your-^ 
self  to  the  service  of  the  world  be- 
cause you  love  it,  and  cannot  help 
giving  yourself  to  it. 
Have    no    desire    for    psychic 

31 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

powers;  they  will  come  when  the 
Master  knows  that  it  is  best  for  you 
to  have  them.  To  force  them  too 
soon  often  brings  in  Its  train  much 
trouble;  often  their  possessor  is 
misled  by  deceitful  nature-spirits, 
or  becomes  conceited  and  thinks  he 
cannot  make  a  mistake ;  and  in  any 
case  the  time  and  strength  that  it 
takes  to  gain  them  might  be  spent 
in  work  for  others.  They  will  come 
in  the  course  of  development — they 
must  come;  and  if  the  Master  sees 
that  it  would  be  useful  for  you  to 
have  them  sooner,  He  will  tell  you 
32 


AT  THE  PEET  OP  THE  MASTEB 


how  to  unfold  them  safely.    Until 
then,  you  are  better  without  them. 

You  must  guard,  too,  against  cer- 
tain small  desires  which  are  com- 
mon in  daily  life.    Never  wish  to 
shine,  or  to  appear  clever;  have  no 
desire  to  speak.    It  is  well  to  speak 
little;  better  still  to  say  nothing, 
unless  you  are  quite  sure  that  what 
you  wish  to  say  is  true,  kind  and 
helpful.      Before    speaking    think 
carefully  whether  what  you  are  go- 
ing to  say  has  those  three  qualities; 
if  it  has  not,  do  not  say  it. 

It  is  well  to  get  used  even  now  to 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

thinking  carefully  before  speaking; 
for  when  you  reach  Initiation  you 
must  watch  every  word,  lest  you 
should  tell  what  must  not  be  told. 
Much  common  talk  is  unnecessary 
and  foolish;  when  it  is  gossip,  it  is 
wicked.  So  be  accustomed  to  listen 
rather  than  to  talk;  do  not  offer 
opinions  unless  directly  asked  for 
them.  One  statement  of  the  Quali- 
fications gives  them  thus;  to  know, 
to  dare,  to  will,  and  to  be  silent; 
and  the  last  of  the  four  is  the  hard- 
est of  them  all. 
Another  common  desire  which 
34 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

you  must  sternly  repress  is  the  wish 
to  meddle  in  other  men's  business. 
What  another  man  does  or  says  or 
believes  is  no  affair  of  yours,  and 
you  must  learn  to  let  him  absolutely 
alone.  He  has  full  right  to  free 
thought  and  speech  and  action,  so 
long  as  he  does  not  interfere  with 
any  one  else.  You  yourself  claim 
the  freedom  to  do  what  you  think 
proper;  you  must  allow  the  same 
freedom  to  him,  and  when  he  ex- 
ercises it  you  have  no  right  to  talk 
about  him. 

If  you  think  he  is  doing  wrong, 
85 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

and  you  can  contrive  an  opportunity 
of  privately  and  very  politely  tell- 
ing him  why  you  think  so,  it  is  possi- 
ble that  you  may  convince  him ;  but 
there  are  many  cases  in  which  even 
that  would  be  an  improper  interfer- 
ence. On  no  account  must  you  go 
and  gossip  to  some  third  person 
about  the  matter,  for  that  is  an  ex- 
tremely wicked  action. 

If  you  see  a  case  of  cruelty  to  a 
child  or  an  animal,  it  is  your  duty 
to  interfere.  If  you  see  any  one 
breaking  the  law  of  the  country,  you 
should  inform  the  authorities.  If 
36 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTEB 


you  are  placed  in  charge  of  another 
person  in  order  to  teach  him,  it  may 
become  your  duty  gently  to  tell  him 
of  his  faults.  Except  in  such  cases, 
mind  your  own  business,  and  learn 
the  virtue  of  silence. 


37 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 


in 

HE  Six  points  of  Conduct 
^^^  which  are  specially  required 
are  given  by  the  Master  as : 

1.  Self-control  as  to  the  Mind. 

2.  Self-control  in  Action. 

3.  Tolerance. 

4.  Cheerfulness. 

5.  One-pointedness. 

6.  Confidence. 

[I  know  some  of  these  are  often 
translated  differently,  as  are  the 
names  of  the  Qualifications;  but  in 

88 


AT  THE  FEET  OP  THE  MASTER 


all  cases  I  am  using  the  names  which 
the  Master  Himself  employed  when 
explaining  them  to  me.] 

1.  8elf-co7itrol  as  to  the  Mind, 

The  Qualification  of  Desirelessness 
shows  that  the  astral  body  must  be 
controlled;    this    shows    the    same 
thing  as  to  the  mental  body.     It 
means  control  of  temper,  so  that  you 
may  feel  no  anger  or  impatience;  of 
the  mind  itself,  so  that  the  thought 
may  always  be  calm  and  unruffled; 
and    (through    the    mind)    of    the 
nerves,  so  that  they  may  be  as  little 
irritable  as  possible.     This  last  is 


39 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

difficult,  because  when  you  try  to 
prepare  yourself  for  the  Path,  you 
cannot  help  making  your  body  more 
sensitive,  so  that  its  nerves  are 
easily  disturbed  by  a  sound  or  a 
shock,  and  feel  any  pressure  acute- 
ly ;  but  you  must  do  your  best. 

The  calm  mind  means  also  cour- 
age, so  that  you  may  face  without 
fear  the  trials  and  difficulties  of  the 
Path;  it  means  also  steadiness,  so 
that  you  may  make  light  of  the 
troubles  which  come  into  every 
one's  life,  and  avoid  the  incessant 
worry  over  little  things  in  which 
40 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

many  people  spend  most  of  their 
time.  The  Master  teaches  that  it 
does  not  matter  in  the  least  what 
happens  to  a  man  from  the  outside ; 
sorrows,  troubles,  sicknesses,  losses 
— all  these  must  be  as  nothing  to 
him,  and  must  not  be  allowed  to 
affect  the  calmness  of  his  mind. 
They  are  the  result  of  past  actions, 
and  when  they  come  you  must  bear 
them  cheerfully,  remembering  that 
all  evil  is  transitory,  and  that  your 
duty  is  to  remain  always  joyous  and 
serene.  They  belong  to  your  pre- 
vious lives,  not  to  this ;  you  cannot 

41 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

alter  them,  so  it  is  useless  to  trouble 
about  them.  Think  rather  of  what 
you  are  doing  now,  which  will  make 
the  events  of  your  next  life,  for  that 
you  can  alter. 

Never  allow  yourself  to  feel  sad 
or  depressed.  Depression  is  wrong, 
because  it  infects  others  and  makes 
their  lives  harder,  which  you  have 
no  right  to  do.  Therefore  if  ever  it 
comes  to  you,  throw  it  off  at  once. 

In  yet  another  way  you  must  con- 
trol your  thought ;  you  must  not  let 
it  wander.  Whatever  you  are  do- 
ing, fix  your  thought  upon  it,  that 
42 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE   MASTER 


it  may  be  perfectly  done ;  do  not  let 
your  mind  be  idle,  but  keep  good 
thoughts  always  in  the  background 
of  it,  ready  to  come  forward  the  mo- 
ment it  is  free. 

Use  your  thought-power  every 
day  for  good  purposes ;  be  a  force  in 
the  direction  of  evolution.  Think 
each  day  of  some  one  whom  you 
know  to  be  in  sorrow,  or  suffering, 
or  in  need  of  help,  and  pour  out 
loving  thought  upon  him. 

Hold  back  your  mind  from  pride, 
for  pride  comes   only  from  igno- 
rance.   The  man  who  does  not  know 
43 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

thinks  that  he  is  great,  that  he  has 
done  this  or  that  great  thing;  the 
wise  man  knows  that  only  God  is 
great,  that  all  good  work  is  done  by 
God  alone. 

2.  Self-control  in  Action. — If  your 
thought  is  what  it  should  be,  you 
will  have  little  trouble  with  your 
action.  Yet  remember  that,  to  be 
useful  to  mankind,  thought  must  re- 
sult in  action.  There  must  be  no 
laziness,  but  constant  activity  in 
good  work.  But  it  must  be  your 
own  duty  that  you  do — not  another 
man's,  unless  with  his  permission 

44 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTEE 

and  by  way  of  helping  him.  Leave 
every  man  to  do  his  own  work  in 
his  own  way;  be  always  ready  to 
offer  help  where  it  is  needed,  but 
never  interfere.  For  many  people 
the  most  difficult  thing  in  the  world 
to  learn  is  to  mind  their  own  busi- 
ness; but  that  is  exactly  what  you 
must  do. 

Because  you  try  to  take  up  higher 
work,  you  must  not  forget  your  or- 
dinary duties,  for  until  they  are 
done  you  are  not  free  for  other  ser- 
vice. You  should  undertake  no  new 
worldly  duties ;  but  those  which  you 
45 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTEB 

have  already  taken  upon  you,  you 
must  perfectly  fulfil — all  clear  and 
reasonable  duties  which  you  your- 
self recognise,  that  is,  not  imagi- 
nary duties  which  others  try  to  im- 
pose upon  you.  If  you  are  to  be  His, 
you  must  do  ordinary  work  better 
than  others,  not  worse ;  because  you 
must  do  that  also  for  His  sake. 

3.  Tolerance. — ^Tou  must  feel  per- 
fect tolerance  for  all,  and  a  hearty 
interest  in  the  beliefs  of  those  of 
another  religion,  just  as  much  as  in 
your  own.  For  their  religion  is  a 
path  to  the  highest,  just  as  yours  is, 
46 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTEB 


And  to  help  all,  you  must  under- 
stand all. 

But  in  order  to  gain  this  perfect 
tolerance,  you  must  yourself  first  be 
free  from  bigotry  and  superstition. 
You  must  learn  that  no  ceremonies 
are  necessary;  else  you  will  think 
yourself  somehow  better  than  those 
who  do  not  perform  them.    Yet  you 
must  not  condemn  others  who  still 
cling  to  ceremonies.   Let  them  do  as 
they  will;  only  they  must  not  inter- 
fere with  you  who  know  the  truth— 
they  must  not  try  to  force  upon  you 
that    which    you    have    outgrown. 

47 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

Make  allowance  for  everything;  be 
kindly  towards  everything. 

Now  that  your  eyes  are  opened, 
some  of  your  old  beliefs,  your  old 
ceremonies,  may  seem  to  you  ab- 
surd; perhaps,  indeed,  they  really 
are  so.  Yet  though  you  can  no 
longer  take  part  in  them,  respect 
them  for  the  sake  of  those  good 
souls  to  whom  they  are  still  impor- 
tant. They  have  their  place,  they 
have  their  use;  they  are  like  those 
double  lines  which  guided  you  as  a 
ohild  to  write  straight  and  evenly, 
until  you  learnt  to  write  far  better 
48 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTEB 


and  more  freely  without  them. 
There  was  a  time  when  you  needed 
them ;  but  now  that  time  is  past. 

A  great  Teacher  once  wrote: 
''When  I  was  a  child,  I  spake  as  a 
child,  I  understood  as  a  child,  I 
thought  as  a  child;  but  when  I  be- 
came a  man  I  put  away  childish 
things."  Yet  he  who  has  forgotten 
his  childhood  and  lost  sympathy 
with  the  children  is  notihe  man  who 
can  teach  them  or  help  them.  So 
look  kindly,  gently,  tolerantly  upon 
all ;  but  upon  all  alike,  Buddhist  or 
49 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

Hindu,  Jain  or  Jew,  Christian  or 
Muhammadan. 

4.  Cheerfulness. — You  must  bear 
your  karma  cheerfully,  whatever  it 
may  be,  taking  it  as  an  honour  that 
suffering  comes  to  you,  because  it 
shows  that  the  Lords  of  Karma 
think  you  worth  helping.  However 
hard  it  is,  be  thankful  that  it  is  no 
worse.  Eemember  that  you  are  of 
but  little  use  to  the  Master  until 
your  evil  karma  is  worked  out,  and 
you  are  free.  By  offering  yourself 
to  Him,  you  have  asked  that  your 
karma  may  be  hurried,  and  so  now 
50 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTEB 


in  one  or  two  lives  you  work 
through  what  otherwise  might  have 
been  spread  over  a  hundred.  But  in 
order  to  make  the  best  out  of  it,  you 
must  bear  it  cheerfully,  gladly. 

Yet  another  point.  You  must 
give  up  all  feeling  of  possession. 
Karma  may  take  from  you  the 
things  which  you  like  best— even  the 
people  whom  you  love  most.  Even 
then  you  must  be  cheerful— ready  to 
part  with  anything  and  everything. 
Often  the  Master  needs  to  pour  out 
His  strength  upon  others  through 
His  servant;  He  cannot  do  that  if 

51 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

the  servant  yields  to  depression.    So 
cheerfulness  must  be  the  rule. 

5.  One-Pointedness. — The  one 
thing  that  you  must  set  before  you 
is  to  do  the  Master's  work.  What- 
ever else  may  come  in  your  way  to 
do,  that  at  least  you  must  never  for- 
get. Yet  nothing  else  can  come  in 
your  way,  for  all  helpful,  unselfish 
work  is  the  Master's  work,  and  you 
must  do  it  for  His  sake.  And  you 
must  give  all  your  attention  to  each 
piece  as  you  do  it,  so  that  it  may  be 
your  very  best.  The  same  Teacher 
also  wrote :  ^  *  Whatsoever  ye  do,  do 
52 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

it  heartily,  as  to  the  Lord,  and  not 
unto  men. ' '  Think  how  you  would 
do  a  piece  of  work  if  you  knew  that 
the  Master  was  coming  at  once  to 
look  at  it ;  just  in  that  way  you  must 
do  all  your  work.  Those  who  know 
most  will  most  know  all  that  that 
verse  means.  And  there  is  another 
like  it,  much  older:  ^* Whatsoever 
thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy 
mighf 

One-pointedness  means,  too,  that 
nothing  shall  ever  turn  you,  even  for 
a  moment,  from  the  Path  upon  which 
you  have  entered.    No  temptations, 

53 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

no  worldly  pleasures,  no  worldly 
affections  even,  must  ever  draw  you 
aside.  For  you  yourself  must  be- 
come one  with  the  Path ;  it  must  be 
so  much  part  of  your  nature  that 
you  follow  it  without  needing  to 
think  of  it,  and  cannot  turn  aside. 
You,  the  Monad,  have  decided  it ;  to 
break  away  from  it  would  be  to 
break  away  from  yourself. 

6.  Confidence. — You  must  trust 
your  Master;  you  must  trust  your- 
self. If  you  have  seen  the  Master, 
you  will  trust  Him  to  the  uttermost, 
through  many  lives  and  deaths.    If 

64 


AT  THE  FEET  OP  THE  MASTEB 


you  have  not  yet  seen  Him,  you  must 
still  try  to  realise  Him  and  trust 
Him,  because  if  you  do  not,  even  He 
cannot  help  you.  Unless  there  is 
perfect  trust,  there  cannot  be  the 
perfect  flow  of  love  and  power. 

You  must  trust  yourself.     You 
sayyouknowyourself  too  well?    If 
you  feel  so,  you  do  not  know  your- 
self; you  know  only  the  weak  outer 
husk,  which  has  fallen  often  into  the 
mire.    But  you—ihe  real  you— you 
are  a  spark  of  God's  own  fire,  and 
God,  who  is  Almighty,  is  in  you,  and 
because  of  that  there  is  nothing  that 

65 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

you  cannot  do  if  you  will.  Say  to 
yourself:  ^'What  man  has  done, 
man  can  do.  I  am  a  man,  yet  also 
God  in  man ;  I  can  do  this  thing,  and 
I  will.''  For  your  will  must  be  like 
tempered  steel,  if  you  would  tread 
the  Path. 


56 


AT  THE  FEET  OP  THE  MASTER 


IV 
yJl^F  all  the  Qualifications,  Love 
\^  is  the  most  important,  for  if 
it  is  strong  enough  in  a  man, 
it  forces  him  to  acquire  all  the  rest, 
and  all  the  rest  without  it  would 
never   be   sufficient.     Often   it   is 
translated  as  an  intense  desire  for 
liberation  from  the  round  of  births 
and  deaths,  and  for  union  with  God. 
But  to  put  it  in  that  way  sounds 
selfish,  and  gives  only  part  of  the 
meaning.    It  is  not  so  much  desire 

57 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

as  will,  resolve,  determination.  To 
produce  its  result,  this  resolve  must 
fill  your  whole  nature,  so  as  to  leave 
no  room  for  any  other  feeling.  It 
is  indeed  the  will  to  be  one  with  God, 
not  in  order  that  you  may  escape 
from  weariness  and  suffering,  but  in 
order  that  because  of  your  deep 
love  for  Him  you  may  act  with  Him 
and  as  He  does.  Because  He  is 
Love,  you,  if  you  would  become  one 
with  Him,  must  be  filled  with  perfect 
unselfishness  and  love  also. 

In    daily    life    this    means    two 
things ;  first,  that  you  shall  be  care- 
ss 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

f  ul  to  do  no  hurt  to  any  living  thing ; 
second,  that  yon  shall  always  be 
watching  for  an  opportunity  to  help. 

First,  to  do  no  hurt.  Three  sins 
there  are  which  work  more  harm 
than  all  else  in  the  world — gossip, 
cruelty,  and  superstition — ^because 
they  are  sins  against  love.  Against 
these  three  the  man  who  would  fill 
his  heart  with  the  love  of  God  must 
watch  ceaselessly. 

See  what  gossip  does.  It  begins 
with  evil  thought,  and  that  in  itself 
is  a  crime.  For  in  everyone  and  in 
everything  there  is  good;  in  every- 

59 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTEB 

one  and  in  everything  there  is  evil. 
Either  of  these  we  can  strengthen  by 
thinking  of  it,  and  in  this  way  we 
can  help  or  hinder  evolution ;  we  can 
do  the  will  of  the  Logos  or  we  can 
resist  Him.  K  yon  think  of  the  evil 
in  another,  you  are  doing  at  the 
same  time  three  wicked  things : 

(1)  You  are  filling  your  neigh- 
bourhood with  evil  thought  instead 
of  with  good  thought,  and  so  you  are 
adding  to  the  sorrow  of  the  world. 

(2)  If  there  is  in  that  man  the 
evil  which  you  think,  you  are 
strengthening  it  and  feeding  it ;  and 

60 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

SO  you  are  making  your  brother 
worse  instead  of  better.  But  gen- 
erally the  evil  is  not  there,  and  you 
have  only  fancied  it ;  and  then  your 
wicked  thought  tempts  your  brother 
to  do  wrong,  for  if  he  is  not  yet  per- 
fect you  may  make  him  that  which 
you  have  thought  him. 

(3)  You  fill  your  own  mind  with 
evil  thoughts  instead  of  good;  and 
so  you  hinder  your  own  growth,  and 
make  yourself,  for  those  who  can 
see,  an  ugly  and  painful  object  in- 
stead of  a  beautiful  and  lovable  one. 

Not  content  with  having  done  all 
61 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTBB 

this  harm  to  himself  and  to  his  vic- 
tim, the  gossip  tries  with  all  his 
might  to  make  other  men  partners  in 
his  crime.  Eagerly  he  tells  his 
wicked  tale  to  them,  hoping  that 
they  will  believe  it;  and  then  they 
join  with  him  in  pouring  evil 
thought  upon  the  poor  sufferer. 
And  this  goes  on  day  after  day,  and 
is  done  not  by  one  man  but  by  thou- 
sands. Do  you  begin  to  see  how 
base,  how  terrible  a  sin  this  is  ?  You 
must  avoid  it  altogether.  Never 
speak  ill  of  any  one ;  refuse  to  listen 
when  any  one  else  speaks  ill  of  an- 
62 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE   MASTER 


other,  but  gently  say:  "Perhaps 
this  is  not  true,  and  even  if  it  is,  it 
is  kinder  not  to  speak  of  it, " 

Then  as  to  cruelty.     This  is  of 
two  kinds,  intentional  and  uninten- 
tional.    Intentional  cruelty  is  pur- 
posely to  give  pain  to  another  living 
being;  and  that  is  the  greatest  of  all 
sins— the  work  of  a  devil  rather 
than  a  man.    You  would  say  that  no 
man  could  do  such  a  thing;  but  men 
have  done  it  often,  and  are  daily 
doing  it  now.    The  inquisitors  did 
it;  many  religious  people  did  it  in 
the  name  of  their  religion.     Vivi- 


63 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

sectors  do  it;  many  schoolmasters 
do  it  habitually.  All  these  people 
try  to  excuse  their  brutality  by 
saying  that  it  is  the  custom;  but  a 
crime  does  not  cease  to  be  a  crime 
because  many  commit  it.  Karma 
takes  no  account  of  custom ;  and  the 
karma  of  cruelty  is  the  most  terri- 
ble of  all.  In  India  at  least  there 
can  be  no  excuse  for  such  customs, 
for  the  duty  of  harmlessness  is 
well-known  to  all.  The  fate  of  the 
cruel  must  fall  also  upon  all  who 
go  out  intentionally  to  kill  God's 
creatures^  and  call  it  '  ^  sport '\ 

64 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE   MASTER 

Such  things  as  these  you  would 
not  do,  I  know ;  and  for  the  sake  of 
the  love  of  God,  when  opportunity 
offers,  you  will  speak  clearly 
against  them.  But  there  is  a 
cruelty  in  speech  as  well  as  in  act; 
and  a  man  who  says  a  word  with 
the  intention  to  wound  another  is 
guilty  of  this  crime.  That,  too,  you 
would  not  do ;  but  sometimes  a  care- 
less word  does  as  much  harm  as  a 
malicious  one.  So  you  must  be  on 
your  guard  against  unintentional 
cruelty. 

It  comes  usually  from  thought- 

65 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTEB 

lessness.  A  man  is  so  jBlled  with 
greed  and  avarice  that  he  never 
even  thinks  of  the  suffering  which 
he  causes  to  others  by  paying  too 
little,  or  by  half-starving  his  wife 
and  children.  Another  thinks  only 
of  his  own  lust,  and  cares  little  how 
many  souls  and  bodies  he  ruins  in 
satisfying  it.  Just  to  save  him- 
self a  few  minutes'  trouble,  a  man 
does  not  pay  his  workmen  on  the 
proper  day,  thinking  nothing  of  the 
difficulties  he  brings  upon  them. 
So  much  suffering  is  caused  just 
by  carelessness — ^by  forgetting  to 

66 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

think  how  an  action  will  affect 
others.  But  karma  never  forgets, 
and  it  takes  no  account  of  the  fact 
that  men  forget.  If  you  wish  to 
enter  the  Path,  you  must  think  of 
the  consequences  of  what  you  do, 
lest  you  should  be  guilty  of  thought- 
less cruelty. 

Superstition  is  another  mighty 
evil,  and  has  caused  much  terrible 
cruelty.  The  man  who  is  a  slave 
to  it  despises  others  who  are  wiser, 
tries  to  force  them  to  do  as  he  does. 
Think  of  the  awful  slaughter  pro- 
duced by  the  superstition  that  ani- 
67 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTEB 

mals  should  be  sacrificed,  and  by 
the  still  more  cruel  superstition 
that  man  needs  flesh  for  food. 
Think  of  the  treatment  which  su- 
perstition has  meted  out  to  the  de- 
pressed classes  in  our  beloved 
India,  and  see  in  that  how  this  evil 
quality  can  breed  heartless  cruelty 
even  among  those  who  know  the 
duty  of  brotherhood.  Many  crimes 
have  men  committed  in  the  name 
of  the  God  of  Love,  moved  by  this 
nightmare  of  superstition;  be  very 
careful  therefore  that  no  slightest 
trace  of  it  remains  in  you. 

68 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

These  three  great  crimes  you 
must  avoid,  for  they  are  fatal  to  all 
progress,  because  they  sin  against 
love.  But  not  only  must  you  thus 
refrain  from  evil;  you  must  be 
active  in  doing  good.  You  must  be 
so  filled  with  the  intense  desire  of 
service  that  you  are  ever  on  the 
watch  to  render  it  to  all  around 
you — ^not  to  man  alone,  but  even  to 
animals  and  plants.  You  must 
render  it  in  small  things  every  day, 
that  the  habit  may  be  formed,  so 
that  you  may  not  miss  the  rare  op- 
portunity   when    the    great    thing 

69 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 

offers  itself  to  be  done.  For  if  you 
yearn  to  be  one  with  God,  it  is  not 
for  your  own  sake;  it  is  that  you 
may  be  a  channel  through  which 
His  love  may  flow  to  reach  your 
fellow-men. 

He  who  is  on  the  P^th  exists  not 
for  himself,  but  for  others;  he  has 
forgotten  himself,  in  order  that  he 
may  serve  them.  He  is  as  a  pen  in 
the  hand  of  God,  through  which  His 
thought  may  flow,  and  find  for  itself 
an  expression  down  here,  which 
without  a  pen  it  could  not  have. 
Yet  at  the  same  time  he  is  also  a 

70 


AT  THE  FEET  OF  THE  MASTER 


living  plume  of  fire,  raying  out 
upon  the  world  the  Divine  Love 
which  fills  his  heart. 

The  wisdom  which  enables  you  to 
help,  the  will  which  directs  the  wis- 
dom, the  love  which  inspires  the 
will— these  are  your  qualifications. 
Will,  Wisdom  and  Love  are  the 
three  aspects  of  the  Logos;  and 
you,  who  wish  to  enroll  yourselves 
to  serve  Him,  must  show  forth 
these  aspects  in  the  world. 


71 


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